Before I start I will let you know that this will be a short review (serious members of Ciao will now probably be slightly concerned. This will relieve everyone else, including those with a short concentration span,).
I don't know about everyone else, but I find carrying a phone charger around with me a right pain in the backside (or usually in the side, where the plug digs in if it is in my pocket). There are some days when you wake up and find that your phone only has one bar battery left, and you haven't got time to charge it. Manufacturers also recommend that you let mobile batteries run down completely to prolong their life, before charging.
So, what do you do? You could;
1. Quickly plug it in to charge for ten minutes and hope that it will push the battery up to two bars,
2. Turn the phone off then on to see if the battery goes back up to two bars,
3. Turn the phone off completely; you can't be bothered chatting to your girl friend or the important customer from Japan,
4. Invest in a 'Kensington USB Car Phone Charger,' that can be used to charge up the phone in either the car or office.
Option 1 is a no no. Charging up a battery, especially the modern lithium ion batteries, for short periods of time does more damage then good. You see, the battery has a 'memory,' and will remember how much power was in it before it was recharged. It will then count this as being empty, so the capacity of the battery decreases significantly. This happens slowly though, so doing it on a one off occasion is fine. (The memory can be compared to a plastic carrier bag, scrunch it up and it will uncrumple itself a bit, but not enough to return to its original shape).
Option 2 is also a big no. If you turn it off, then on again, the battery level could go down to 0, and so you would be even more screwed!
Option 3 is an even bigger no. Its better to go a day with a phone with very low battery than lose a girlfriend or big customer.
Therefore, by process of elimination, option 4 is the obvious option and I will now tell you why.
This charger is actually nothing more than a wire that has a USB adapter on one end, and a metal piece on the other. The USB adapter plugs straight into a USB port on a computer, no need to install any software or anything. Plus, with the more recent computers coming with USB ports on the front as well as on the back, it is simple to plug in.
On the other end of the wire is a metal bit (scientific, isn't it, but I bet you know what I am talking about!). The charger comes with adaptors that fit into Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericcson and Motorola phones. You simply choose your model's adaptor and clip it on to the metal bit on the end of the wire. The, plug it into your phone.
And that my friend is your phone being charged. Excellent. But what about if you are driving about all day, and don't have a computer in the car?
Well, you also get an extra bit of wire, that on the end has a piece that will fit into your cigarette lighter in the car. The other end plugs into the USB adaptor. Then plug your phone into the other end (as described above) and Bob's your uncle. Your phone is in and charging.
To attach all of these bits mentioned above, it is simply a case of inserting the smaller bit into the bit with the hole in. It’s hard to describe in words, but it is blatantly obvious when you actually open the charger and look at it.
What more can I say. It is very simple and easy to use, and will fit most models of the above makes. You can even still use your phone whilst it is charging. The charger will charge your phone in the same amount of time, as the original charger will, however I can not quote a time as it varies between different makes and models of phone.
The instructions are printed on the packaging, they are short and simple, yet all that you need. As an added bonus, it even comes with a two year guarantee, but I fail to see how a piece of wire with a bit of metal n each end can go wrong! At only fifteen quid, you cannot go wrong with this.
More details
Ease of Use
Very Easy
Durability
Excellent
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